Covering letter - need help - out of ideas

[pointer2null]

A mate of mine is trying for a driving job but we need a covering letter. I've started but the old insperational juices have dried up...

so far we have:

I am a mature profession driver who has worked in a wide variety of driving situations during my career - from high speed ambulance driving to transporting spinal injury patients in as gentle a mannor as possible.

I have a relaxed and friendly mannor and I am able to stay calm in high stress enviroments.

Any other ideas?

[BBROWN1664]

What's the job he is after? Makes a difference if it is not an ambulance driver.

[pointer2null]

It's a driving job with the MOD - the ad says:

Principal Customers: Senior MOD Staff MOD, Debut and Supply Chain customers. Job Purpose: To drive a variety of MOD vehicles to transport passengers and items relating to service delivery in line with the FM contract. This role will also include additional adhoc duties when required by the management. Responsibilities: to action any driving tasks issued by. Management 1.Chauffeur tasks 2.Shuttle Bus tasks 3.Mail run tasks 4. Any other driving tasks as and when required 5. Any ad hoc duties to be actioned when not tasked to drive. Vehicles to be returned and collected from Abbeywood, Bristol - Unless a prior agreement ascertaining to relevant tasks, has been made with Debut management. Vehicles must be kept clean and tidy at all times.

[BBROWN1664]

say more about general driving experience, how much experience they have on other vehicles other than ambulances and how clean their nose is for getting the required security clearance.

[Grahamm]

Any other ideas?

Yep, proof read it and spell check it before you send it!

[oldmotherfoccer]

Any other ideas?

Yep, proof read it and spell check it before you send it!

i would second that - mannor/manner etc

[pointer2null]

   It was late and I was rushing - that's all I can say 

[Pat]

I'd drop the 'high-speed' phrase, the ad just wants someone for routine stuff, mentioning high-speed could make the recruiter think he's some sort of speedfreak &  be likely to thrash their vehicles around the place!  Replace it with something more positive sounding like 'driving emergency-response ambulances & ensuring they were always kept  clean & in a constant state of mission readiness' that also covers the final point of the ad.

[Andy Clap]

Good words - Professional, courteous, reliable.
Got any military experience (22 yrs SAS, or 3 months TA 20 years ago?)
Got any security clearance?
Any first aid training (sorry if this is a silly question for an ambulance driver, but worth mentioning).

[eddie]

clean licence!!

[DryRob]

might not hurt to mention any general/emergency repair skills if he has them

[AdieR]

Obviously, list all licence categories obtained (if s/he's ex ambulance, s/he'll likely have things like passenger vehicle entitlements etc), and any advanced driving courses  (eg IAM). It MAY (if its relevant to the job) be worth stating any specialist driving courses / training (emergency response, skid pan training, cadence braking, off-road etc) - this is a bit of a judgement call deciding what is / isn't relevant. The bit about transporting spinal patients could be useful if the MoD job entails any delicate / fragile goods for example.

Other things which could be useful are things like vehicle maintenance skills (however basic), manual handling (lifting / loading of patients, equipment and other loads).

I also would drop the "high-speed ambulance driving" bit, and refer to it as something like "driving emergency response vehicles to and from reported incidents" and "transporting vulnerable patients in a safe manner for treatment". Obviously in an ambulance, hygiene is an important point wrt infections etc, so something like "kept vehicles and equipment clean and well maintained giving due regard to hygiene / infection control" might be good.

Key point with cover letters is to keep it brief and to the point: it's amazing how many people waffle on and go off point, or regurgitate a lot of not-always-relevant information; CV's / job applications get read for about 10 seconds (bear in mind a recruiter may, literally, have hundreds of them to sift through), and the style and layout is as important as the content.

[pointer2null]

Ok thanks for the inputs - I've taken insperation from them all and come up with this - comments?

I am writing to apply for the position of Senior Pool Driver as advertised on the
Direct Gov website. I have included a copy of my curriculum vitae in support of
my application, and I feel my skill would be ideally suited to this
position.
 
I have worked as a professional driver for the most part of the last 20 years and
have always enjoyed driving jobs. I have always had a clean licence and have
never had any criminal convictions.
 
During my career I have worked as an IDCH accredited emergency ambulance driver
attending reported incidents, as a freelance driver for the renal transplant
team, a qualified driving instructor. I have been ROSPA trained and have always
ensured my vehicles are always kept clean, in good repair and in a state of
readiness.
 
I have experience of driving a wide range of vehicles, from standard cars, vans
and ambulances to 7.5 trucks. I have a good knowledge of motor mechanics and can
competently deal with roadside breakdowns.
 
If  you would like to know more about me or have any questions regarding the
information on my CV, please do not hesitate to contact me.

The formattings all gone to hell during the cut 'n' paste operation so ignore that part of it.

[UG]

itt reely kums ter summats wen eye kann sea der buggas spellt rong 
 

[Major Rant]

You use too many commas! Try this: 
 
 
I am writing to apply for the position of Senior Pool Driver as advertised on the
Direct Gov website. I have included a copy of my curriculum vitae in support of
my application and I feel my skill would be ideally suited to this
position.
 
I have worked as a professional driver for the most part of the last 20 years and
have always enjoyed driving jobs. I have always had a clean licence and have
never had any criminal convictions.
 
During my career I have worked as an IDCH accredited emergency ambulance driver
attending reported incidents, as a freelance driver for the renal transplant
team and as a qualified driving instructor. I have been ROSPA trained and have always
ensured my vehicles are always kept clean, in good repair and in a state of
readiness.
 
I have experience of driving a wide range of vehicles from standard cars, vans
and ambulances to 7.5 trucks. I have a good knowledge of motor mechanics and can
competently deal with roadside breakdowns.
 
If  you would like to know more about me or have any questions regarding the
information on my CV please do not hesitate to contact me.